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Wednesday, October 15, 2025
The Allahabad High Court has granted bail to Sadakat Khan, an accused in a case connected to the killing of Umesh Pal, the key witness in the 2005 murder of legislator Raju Pal. The order was passed on October 7, 2025, by Justice Sameer Jain and was uploaded on the official court portal on October 12, 2025. Advocate Siddhartha Mishra represented the applicant.
Umesh Pal was fatally shot on February 24, 2023, in Prayagraj while under security protection. He was a prosecution witness in the Raju Pal murder trial, where former Member of Parliament and Member of the Legislative Assembly Atiq Ahmed, along with his brother Ashraf, were principal accused.
Following Pal’s death, multiple related investigations were initiated. In one of those, registered as Case Crime No. 86/2023 at Bithari Chainpur Police Station in Bareilly, authorities alleged that Sadakat Khan facilitated communication from inside jail between Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf.
In a separate and highly publicised incident, Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf were shot dead on April 15, 2023, during a police medical escort. The shooting occurred in front of news cameras and was broadcast live, drawing international attention to custodial safety and due process in India.
In its ruling, the High Court stated that the applicant was not named in the original First Information Report (FIR) and was implicated later based on the statement of another accused. The Court held that criminal history alone is not sufficient ground for denial of bail and reaffirmed the legal principle that “bail is the rule, jail is the exception.”
India News. Hostel At Allahabad University Sealed After Arrest Of Accused From Premises — NDTV, 7 march 2023
- Hon’ble Justice Sameer Jain. [elegalix.allahabadhighcourt.in CRIMINAL MISC. BAIL APPLICATION ( BAIL )-[20849/2025] Sadakat Khan Versus State of Uttar Pradesh] — Allahabad High Court, 7 October 2025 ).
